1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an igniter which emits a flame from a nozzle, and more particularly, to an igniter comprising a safety mechanism for guaranteeing safety.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an igniter, such as a torch burner, is installed in a gas cartridge which contains gas. A torch burner of this kind is composed so that it takes the gas inside the gas cartridge into the interior of the burner, a spark discharge is then induced in the gas thus taken in, by using a piezoelectric material or the like, thereby igniting the gas, and the resulting flame is emitted from a nozzle.
A composition is adopted whereby the spark discharge is generated in a straightforward fashion by means a user operating, with his or her finger, a movable plate called a trigger which is provided in the torch burner.
For this reason, the user is able to take up the torch burner, in a state where the torch burner has been installed on a gas cartridge and gas has been introduced into the torch burner, and the user can ignite the burner very easily simply by operating the trigger with a finger of the hand which is holding the burner. Therefore, this igniter has excellent usability.
However, although a torch burner of this kind is very easy to use when handled by an adult, since a flame can readily be produced from the nozzle, there is a risk of danger when it is used by a child.
Therefore, in the prior art, it has been proposed that a torch burner, or the like, should incorporate a safety device which prevents a child from operating the trigger easily (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,840,759 (FIG. 3, etc.).
However, in practice, a safety device of this kind may be released simply by a child, and hence there have been demands for a safety device which is difficult for child to release. Naturally, if the structure of the safety device is made extraordinarily complex, then a safety device which is difficult for a child to release can be obtained, but this also makes the device difficult for even an adult to release, and thus impairs the usability of the torch burner.
Consequently, there has been a problem of developing a safety device which is difficult for a child to release but which still maintains good usability for an adult user.